2nd day of our trek and we sat down with our expanded group of 5 for breakfast. Banana’s were heavily on my no-go list before Jamie and I set off for South America but a combination of trying to brave it now with foods I hate and the fact they were disguised by crépes and chocolate sauce got me through it. What an achievement 😂 I know, I know!

Juanito rounded up the troops and we set off walking! A short while later we stopped at a museum – not your typical one. This was a small hut but we learned tonnes here about the local people and their expert knowledge of agriculture. We decided to become experts too by trying some of the produce – not our fault that the free sample was Snake-infused Pisco (Peruvian Tequila)! 🤫

Today’s trek was far less draining than the first – we were in the shady side of the canyon in the morning. Tried some more local snacks along the way:

– Grenadia which was like passion fruit with an upgrade and quite satisfying to eat.

– Plantain chips – similar to a banana but less sweet. I’d take these over McCoy’s any day!

We reached the final part of our route for the day in good time, and this final 30-40 minutes was made sweeter by the views of Sangelle below. An oasis at the lowest point of the canyon, and our home for the next 18 hours. Arriving again around midday, we had the afternoon to relax in this paradise.

But who even likes relaxing? Instead I spent the next few hours learning how to dive – thanks go out to my team of expert coaches… Jamie, Margarida, Emil and Dario ‘The Machine’ Vitoriano (named because he had barely broken a sweat since we began the trek, and was trekking another canyon and 2 volcanoes upon our return to Arequipa).

We spent the night chatting over Chilcanos with our new Canadian friends and settled in ahead of yet another early start! Thankfully we are getting used to these 😛